Sinden - FabricLive.43

Sinden - FabricLive.43
Ubiquitous UK remixer/producer/DJ Graeme Sinden has been tagged as an exponent of fidget house, an annoying label that calls to mind images of a jock with the shakes trying to cue a track without damaging his equipment. To detractors, the style sounds like impatient house, with its high churn rate, cut-up mixing and occasionally dilettantish fixation on exotic sounds. Sinden's production work certainly deserves the relentless tag—see his catchy, bouncy single "Beeper." But on his new Fabric mix, he presents a focused, well-constructed set.

It's a bit of a branding exercise to shoehorn "Switch & Sinden Present Get Familiar" into the title of this mix, since Fabriclive.43 is strictly a solo affair. But the style and spirit of the duo's bi-monthly Fabric night is clearly an inspiration for this album, which showcases Sinden's inclusive and immediate style. While there's nothing especially brave or unique about spinning an eclectic club set in 2009—especially a fast-paced tour through Baltimore club, grime and other genres—Sinden executes with solid pacing and well-chosen tracks.

Sinden wanted this set to reflect what's happening in clubland now, and starts off with tracks like Yo Majesty's brash, bratty "Club Action" and his remix of Mujava's wobbly, bleep-heavy "Township Funk." From there, cynics may say, every item on the hipster checklist is dutifully marked. He cycles through his remix of "Balle! Shava!" by Tigerstyle, Radioclit's buzzing "Secousse" (which adds an African vibe), and then he dips into grime and dubstep. But his transitions are smooth and unforced, switching between genres without hitting any potholes, and the deep, swaggering detour of tracks like Joker's off-kilter "Gully Brook Lane" and JME's "AWOH" cool things down before the final build-up.

Sinden tightens the screws with "Drop the Pressure," "Giggle Rhythm" and "Beat Bang" by his Machines Don't Care supergroup, and eventually exhales slowly with two ethereal, neon-tinged tracks, M83's "Couleurs" and "Redlights" by Salem. This is a snapshot rather than a defining statement, and while other contemporaries may focus on low-end sounds or go farther afield in terms of song selection, Sinden delivers something both punchy and potent.